


But My Life Could Be A Shoujo Romance!

by AkikoDesu



Category: Free!
Genre: Genre Savvy, Haru ruins everything, M/M, Rin knows how to get a boyfriend okay, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:25:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6750145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkikoDesu/pseuds/AkikoDesu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru has absolutely no faith in Rin's plan to turn his life into a blossoming, beautiful, shoujo romance at the coffee shop in their neighborhood, but as his best friend it's his duty to make sure Rin doesn't embarrass himself too badly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Don't Like Coffee

     Haru doesn’t know why he allows himself to be pulled into such ridiculous scenarios, but he has a feeling it’s because Rin is his best friend. Considering that they’ve been friends since they were twelve they share a strong bond that compels Haru to give in. Something about Rin boils bubbles in his blood and brings out a determination and an energy that is often otherwise lacking inside. Perhaps because Haru has so few friends and Rin is that much more important to him. Haru frequently is willing to go beyond the standard outline of friendship for Rin.

     This is very much not one of those times.

     Rin is secretly obsessed with shoujo romance manga, anime, and dramas. As a hopeless romantic, Rin can’t help himself from being pulled in to the love-struggles of all his fictional characters. Haru has been dragged into more _Boys Over Flowers_ marathons than he can count. Of course, much to Rin’s eternal suffering, Haru remains entirely indifferent to the genre as a whole leaving him alone in his fiery mania. While occasionally annoying, Haru has never much minded Rin’s hobby even as it slowly consumed the apartment, stacks of manga and bootleg DVD sets piling up everywhere. He just accepted that it’s just a part of who Rin is.

     Rin is a competitive shit about everything.

     Rin has shark teeth for no good reason.

     Rin lives for shoujo romance.

     It was that simple to Haru. However, Rin has recently taken his hobby to the next level. He’s no longer content with just watching these dramatic romances often rife with misunderstandings unfold before his eyes. He wants to live that experience, he wants to live a real life shoujo romance of his own.

     As Rin’s best friend, Haru knows he should at the least consider being supportive, but he can’t. This is a really terrible idea. He almost feels bad because he can see how completely serious Rin is about this. Rin is sitting opposite from him at their table, explaining with passion how the new coffee shop that’s opened up in their neighborhood is his ticket to the shoujo romance of all shoujo romances.

     The coffee shop in question has been open a little over and month and is a short walk from their apartment complex and the building it’s in is beautiful. There’s a large glass window taking up the entirety of one wall, letting the warm light of the sun pour into the cozy looking shop. The smell of coffee wafts out in teasing breezes, enforcing rumors that the coffee served there is some of the best you can get anywhere.

     Haru hasn’t been in, but he doesn’t really care for coffee so he’s had no reason to go. However, Rin is campaigning hard to give him a reason and for them to go there, _today_. He explains with conviction his plan to seduce the cute barista he saw working yesterday through the windows.

     “This is it Haru! My life could be _Coffee Prince_!”

     Haru doesn’t even know where to start in how unlikely and wrong that is. As his best friend, he owes it to Rin for every time he’s prevented Haru from getting arrested for trespassing while swimming in unguarded bodies of water to attempt to talk sense into him.

     Haru brings up the fiasco that happened last semester.

     Rin spent six weeks pretending to be terrible at math so he could get into the tutor program, all to talk to some blue haired megane, Rei something.  For those six weeks, the better part of Rin’s free time outside of class and practice was spent with the math tutor, trying to win his affections. Rin had even managed to talk him into studying away from campus a handful of times.

     Of course that came to an end when Rin confessed that he wasn’t actually bad at math at all that he was in fact quite skilled and had been feigning ignorance all to spend time with Rei. Contrary to the reaction Rin expected, which was blushing, a returned confession and maybe some kissing, his tutor was furious. Rei slammed his book on the table, fuming at Rin that his time was being wasted, that there were dozens of other students who genuinely needed his help and Rin had the utter audacity to abuse learning resources for something as frivolous as a crush. He continued on that he felt utterly disgusted that he was nothing more than a pawn in Rin’s juvenile fantasies before storming off.

     Haru wishes he had been there to see it happen. Rin still prickles when it’s brought up but Haru still can’t help but think it’s a little funny. Even now, Rin is glaring at him, sharp teeth revealed as he scowls at Haru. He lets out a sigh that sounds more like a growl than a sigh and stands up.

     “Are you coming with me or not?”

     Although Haru has exactly zero faith in Rin’s scheme, he’s decided he can’t let such a precious opportunity to witness Rin in action pass by again that he caves. Besides, someone needs to make sure Rin doesn’t get himself in too much trouble.

     “Yeah, I’ll come.” Haru says and follows Rin out the door.

     The walk is shorter than Haru estimated and in just less than ten minutes the coffee shop comes into view. Rin slows to a reasonable walk, moving the fringe out of his eyes, pretending he didn’t race Haru the entire way over. No one said out loud that it was a race but every time Haru’s toes were just slightly further ahead than Rin’s he sped up. It annoyed Haru enough that he purposely kept stepping ahead of Rin. Before either of them has realized it, it had become a race.

     Rin enters the coffee shop first, smugly looking over his shoulder at Haru. He walks up to the counter, peering around for the barista that should be, but is not there. Haru stands next to him, until he feels a familiar elbow jabbing his side. Haru rolls his head and shifts his gaze to Rin who harshly whispers at him that he needs to move before the hot barista comes back and gets the wrong idea. Rin wants to look as single and available as possible to attract his attention. Out of spite from losing the not-race Haru lingers directly next to Rin for a few moments longer before leaving. Haru claims an empty seat at the counter as his own.

     The barista finally appears from the back room. Unlike many other occasions where Haru questions Rin’s taste level he can agree this guy is attractive. Hot barista is tall and broad, his muscles stretching the fabric of his black uniform shirt tight across his torso. His skin has a sun kissed glow and his hair looks incredibly soft.  Haru can’t help but notice the warmness of his smile when he greets Rin and asks for his order.

     He can admit this person is a good candidate to be a shoujo prince.

     Maybe because of that it’s that much more embarrassing to watch Rin helplessly flirt. Rin pushes his hair back and grins, teasing that he’ll take a bite out of hot barista if he takes too long with his sakura frap. Hot barista has no reaction to that, nor does he react to Rin’s tired story of punching a shark in the nose while swimming in Australia, flexing his biceps as he throws a playful swing towards hot barista. He looks almost offended when he’s politely asked to stand aside so the next person can order. Rin mindlessly walks to a table just diagonal of Haru and sits. His eyebrows scrunch together as he goes over what happened and how it all went all wrong.

     Haru can’t hold back his smirk. Hopefully this will be enough to convince shoujo princess RinRin to call it quits and date like a normal person. Not to target unsuspecting strangers for his insane-

     “Good afternoon! I’m Makoto, what can I get you?”

     Haru whips round to the voice and sees hot barista- _Makoto,_ his nametag reads- right in front of him leaning across the counter. Haru can see his own reflection in the shimmering green of Makoto’s eyes. Haru’s stunned, caught off guard by the sudden question. He hadn’t planned to order anything at all.

     Yes, ordering something is exactly why he’s feeling paralyzed. Not at all cause Makoto is beautiful.

     “I don’t like coffee.” Haru realizes seconds too late that’s probably in the top ten worst things you can say to someone who works at a coffee shop.

     “That’s alright. Do you like tea? We have a large variety of teas too.”

     Haru nods slowly. Tea is good. He hadn’t even checked the menu board. He had just assumed a coffee shop would exclusively deal in coffee. Peering up, he spies a corner dedicated the different flavors of tea and finds himself overwhelmed with options. Are there really this many types of tea? Don’t they just have green tea? His lips curve down into a pout.

     “If you don’t mind, I have something I think you’ll really like.” Makoto seems to sense his frustration and shares another one of his warm smiles.

     Haru nods again. For whatever reason, he trusts Makoto not to poison him. When Makoto returns, he’s caught in a whirlwind of preparing orders, including Rin’s pink sakura frap. Rin is still too wrapped up in what went wrong earlier to notice Makoto at his table. Haru finds it a little incredulous that anyone could over look Makoto’s presence but then again, no one else he knows has an ego as big as Rin’s. Makoto sets his drink down and by the time Rin looks up and begins to speak, Makoto is already behind the counter again, much to Rin’s dismay.

     After just a few more short minutes, Makoto returns to Haru with a hot cup of tea, sliding it across the counter into Haru’s hands. Whatever the mystery brew is, it smells good. He’s glad he brought his wallet now and starts to fish it out of his pocket when Makoto stops him.

     “No! It’s on me. Really. I kind of forced you into it.” Makoto scratches his cheek and the tips of his earns turn pink. “Just tell me what you think of the tea.”

     Haru doesn’t even get the chance to argue with him over it before the queue fills back up and a line of customers is waiting for Makoto to take their orders. Haru stares at the tea in front of him. Should he drink it? It would be rude not to drink it. He picks up the cup, pressing it to his lips and taking a long, slow sip.

     Whatever Makoto made for him, it’s good. Very good.

     He sneaks a glance over at the register, admiring Makoto’s profile. It’s probably a minor problem that he’s developing a crush on Rin’s shoujo prince. Haru wonders how incredibly dick it would be to try his chances with Makoto, seeing as he has minimal if any interest in Rin. In any case, if Rin wants a genuine shoujo romance he needs a rival in love, right?


	2. The Taste of Lemons

     Next week, Rin decides that his first encounter with hot barista Makoto was nothing more than a freak fluke. It’s clear that Rin was just too outgoing and intense during their first official meeting and Makoto was obviously too shocked and intimidated to respond in any way other than autopilot work mode. Now that they’ve met before, Makoto will be putty in Rin’s hands.

     At least, this is the working theory Rin is going with.

     Haru highly doubts this is the case, but humors Rin anyways. Besides, he needs to see Makoto again.

    …To thank Makoto for the tea from last time, _of course_. _No other reason at all._

     They don’t race to the shop this time. It’s a windy day and rather than wasting his energy on taking longer steps a few centimeters ahead of Rin, Haru tries to keep from being blown away. The stronger gusts keep bullying him, pushing him around like a dandelion tuft. It’s such a hassle that Haru tries to push the door clearly labeled “pull” in his haste to get inside the coffee shop.

     Makoto, who the mere sight of immediately makes all the struggle of getting here worth it, greets them both cheerfully. As they both reach the counter, Rin shoves Haru aside, centering himself in Makoto’s line of sight.

     Haru refuses to put himself in the middle of this oncoming car wreck and sits at the counter, same place as before and shrugs his jacket off. If he sits here one more time, it will officially be _his_ spot. Sitting some place three times in a row make a place your spot. It’s just the rules.

     From his perch, he watches Rin’s second attempt to win over Makoto. Just as Haru predicted, it works just as well as first. That is to say, it doesn’t work at all. Every flashy grin, flexed bicep, and flirty line about biting Makoto falls flat. Hardly discouraged, Rin writes his phone number down and drops it in the tip jar. As Makoto busies himself with the Frappuccino machine, Rin starts to tell his perilous shark punching story again when Makoto interrupts, bopping Rin on the nose with his fist and handing him his pink drink with the other hand.

     “I remember.” Makoto says.

     The playful punch has a very similar effect to the shark in Rin’s story as it does on him. He stumbles backwards, dazed, and falls into the nearest chair. For several moments he stares ahead, sparsely blinking until his senses come back to him. Once Rin regains awareness, he looks from his drink, up to the counter and back. He holds it up, turning it as he checks for a phone number or secret message and finds nothing other than his name written. He frowns and slinks down in his spot, sipping his drink.

     _Rin: 0_

_Makoto: 1_

     Haru peers over at where Makoto is now and sees him stretching for something up on a shelf. His back muscles flex as he reaches, perfectly visible through his thin work shirt. The brown straps of his apron crisscross between his shoulder blades and further highlight the sharp jut of his shoulder blades. Haru bites his lip and considers that it’s really not his fault if Makoto ends up preferring him over Rin. Makoto descends the ladder and turns around, almost catching Haru staring, but Haru is quick to pretend he’s looking at something on his phone and not oogling the barista. He’s afraid he’s been caught when Makoto approaches, leaning across the counter towards him.

     “It’s good to see you again. You never told me what you thought of the tea last time. You left without telling me. I was worried you thought it was terrible!”

     Haru is caught off guard that Makoto remembers him. He must see hundreds of people a day and while assaulting a shark on the Australian coast stands out, nodding a lot and drinking half a cup of tea before running off, does not. However, he feels guilty that Makoto thinks his tea is bad because Haru was forced to leave early. If he hadn’t been rushed out suddenly by _a certain someone_ he probably would have asked for a second cup of the mystery tea.

     “The tea was very good, I liked it.” Haru assures him maybe a little too quickly. Regardless, Makoto looks visibly relieved to hear that, his stiff shoulders relax and he settles into a more comfortable position.

     “I hadn’t brewed that one before and I thought maybe I did it wrong and… You also left without telling me your name.”  Makoto says shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He tries to make eye contact with Haru but chickens out, looking away instead.

     There’s a small gap of silence before Haru answers, afraid he’ll blurt instead of speaking like a normal human being again.

     “…Haru.”

     The way Makoto smiles at his name sends little jolts up his spine. It’s not the same kind of smile he gave him and Rin when they entered, it’s different somehow, softer. Whatever it is, it makes Haru feel warm, much too warm and the feeling overwhelms him until he looks away again, hoping that his windblown fringe will hide his reddening face.

     “So, Haru…” Makoto pauses as if he’s tasting Haru’s name in his mouth before finishing his sentence, “Do you want the same tea again today? Or something new?”

     “Surprise me, Makoto.” Haru replies.

     The pretty blush that dusts the top of Makoto’s nose before he heads to the back is more than satisfying. Haru lets his mouth curl into a small smile until Rin loudly clears his throat. He looks over to see Rin glaring at him, arms crossed and tapping his foot angrily.

_Oh no. Busted._

Rin gives him a look and whisper-shouts “what the fuck are you doing,”

     Haru mouths “ _flirting_ ” back at him.

     Rin continues staring and they don’t break eye contact, letting the tension between them rise. It’s officially become a staring contest between them.

     Makoto comes back with his cup of tea. Haru notices immediately that it’s lighter in color than last week’s tea and Haru can smell citrus. He can’t help but recall the old saying that your first kiss is supposed to taste like lemons. He wonders briefly if kissing Makoto would taste anything like lemons. Resting forward on his elbows, he eyes Makoto over the cup and takes a drink. It’s sweet, much sweeter than he usually takes his tea but Haru likes it all the same.

     “Its-”

     “What kind of cakes do you have?”

     Rin cuts Haru off, peering into the display case of baked goods. There’s a colorful sign resting atop the case reading “Fresh baked daily!” Different kinds of breads, cakes, and muffins line each shelf. Rin’s hands are in his pockets as he bends down to read the tiny handwritten labels for each item. Looking up at Makoto from below, he continues.

     “What would you recommend for someone who doesn’t like sweet things?”

     Makoto brightens and Haru tries not to be obvious about eavesdropping, but Makoto talks with such enthusiasm about the cakes, especially chocolate flavors, that Haru can’t help himself from listening in. The sound of Makoto’s voice is so pleasant that Haru imagine he could listen to him talk about anything for hours.

     Rin must also be lost listening to his voice because when Makoto asks him if he wants to try any of the cakes he freezes like a stunned fish and points randomly at the display, ironically picking the sweetest cake available. Haru rolls his eyes. Really, Rin could have at least tried to listen a little bit. Makoto grabs a plate and carves a regular sliced piece for Rin, handing it to him across the counter. It’s slight and entirely accidental, but their hands brush and Haru bristles, unreasonably jealous over it. Rin sees it on Haru’s face and grins.

     Sitting down, Rin digs into his cake. With small delicate bites, he drags the fork slowly from his mouth over his bottom lip humming softly. He takes another bite, curling his tongue around the tufts of whip cream, licking them away before taking the rest into his mouth. His eyes are half closed by the third bite, increasing the volume of his unnecessary moans. Rin continues to bring as much attention to his mouth as possible, sucking his fork as he eats. The coffee shop has become home to a softcore food porno.

     Rin tilts his head back, looking behind the counter to see if Makoto is watching, as several other patrons now are, only to see him back over by Haru.

     “Did you get a chance to try your tea? What do you think?” Makoto asks.

     Haru feels distinctly smug that he has all of Makoto’s attention, even up against Rin’s lavish oral production.

     “Very sweet.”

     “It’s honey and lemon, one of my favorites. Maybe I added too much honey this time.”

     The afternoon rush has ended and aside from Makoto, himself, and Rin who is now sulking and taking pics for his instagram, because damn if he is going unnoticed when he looks this good today, the shop is empty. Makoto peeks around before making himself an identical cup of tea. He pulls a stool over across from Haru, whispering quietly “Mind if I join you?” Haru hums quietly and Makoto understands, sitting down with him.

     Neither of them says anything and that’s okay. The silence that blankets them isn’t uncomfortable, not exactly. Makoto’s company is more than enough for Haru. He watches Makoto take the first sip of his own drink, biting his lip and glancing over at Haru’s cup.

     “Oh. That is very sweet, even for me. Sorry, I’ll make it less sweet next time.”

     ‘ _Next time_ ’ sounds almost like a promise the way Makoto says it. Haru is almost done with his tea. He knows that Makoto will have to go back to work soon. This brief unspoiled moment in time is going to come to an end, sooner rather than later. Haru looks back at Rin, now adding filters and stickers to his pics and determines he’s occupied enough that he won’t be looking up from his phone any time soon.

     He glances up at Makoto, waiting for him to put his cup back down on the saucer. Once he does, Makoto smiles at him and it solidifies Haru’s resolve to follow through with his next action.

     Haru closes the space between them and brings their lips together in a soft kiss. His eyes close and there’s a moment of terror when Makoto is frozen against his mouth. Just as he’s about to pull away and spare himself the embarrassment of Rin possibly noticing what he tried when he feels it. Haru feels Makoto kiss back.

      Their first kiss definitely tastes like lemons thanks to the tea, but Haru thinks he would like kissing Makoto even if it didn’t. After precious few seconds, Haru pulls back, ending their brief kiss.

     Makoto is scratching the back of his head and looking at Haru with glimmering eyes and he opens his mouth to say something, but ends up biting his lip instead. Haru swallows and hopes that will crush the little butterflies rattling around in his stomach.

     Someone walks in just after that, bell over the door cheerily chiming and brings them both out their stupor. Haru stands, but the butterflies persist and things become too uncomfortable for him to deal with and he decides to head to class.

     Two hours early.

     “S-see you, Makoto.”

     “Yeah! See you next time, Haru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALS ARE OVER. BYE FINALS.   
> More time for writing boys being idiots, one of my literal favorite things in the world.  
> A lot of people have been asking about Rei making a comeback! I was really surprised. I hadn't had plans to before... but maybe I'll sneak in another cameo for you!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm back! It's been a crazy semester, I have -two- jobs now and my undying love for MakoHaru is still undying. I wrote this for my dear senpai, who is literally the best everyone else can stop trying. 
> 
> I'm excited to get back to writing now that I'll have some time this summer! Also, anyone looking for my "missing" fic, I wasn't happy with it and really want to rework before I think about reposting. Sorry for anyone looking forward to the end of that, you can message me and I can summarize what the last chapter was supposed to be and answer any unanswered questions.
> 
> So anyways, this was inspired by a writing prompt I saw on tumblr a long time ago and that I got very carried away with. Its super silly and cute and I hope that you all enjoy it and look forward to future updates!


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